Celebrate All That Is Yours In Christ

Deuteronomy 16:1-17
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Pastor Colin focuses on Deuteronomy 16, where Moses, in his last weeks, speaks to a younger generation about the importance of remembering the Lord and celebrating key festivals. These festivals are the Passover, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles.

Moses instructs the Israelites to celebrate these festivals in one location to cultivate joy. Each festival, according to Pastor Colin, points to significant Christian beliefs. The Passover points to Christ’s sacrifice; the Feast of Weeks, or first fruits, points to His resurrection and the gift of the Holy Spirit; and the Feast of Tabernacles reminds believers that this world is temporary and of the eternal home with Christ.

Pastor Colin concludes that what we celebrate shapes our lives. Celebrating Christ’s redemption, presence, and promise to take us home is of supreme importance. He encapsulates this with a repeated phrase: “Christ redeemed me, Christ is with me, Christ will take me home.”

1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:03,320 We’re about two thirds of the way through this series now. 2 00:00:03,320 –> 00:00:04,540 I don’t know how you’re finding it, 3 00:00:04,540 –> 00:00:06,020 but let me tell you how I’m finding it. 4 00:00:06,020 –> 00:00:09,120 I am finding that God is using this part of the Bible 5 00:00:09,120 –> 00:00:12,560 to stretch me and to challenge me, 6 00:00:12,560 –> 00:00:16,959 and I expect that some of you are finding exactly the same. 7 00:00:16,959 –> 00:00:18,840 We’ve been looking at what it takes for people 8 00:00:18,840 –> 00:00:22,020 with a faith to become people with a mission. 9 00:00:22,020 –> 00:00:24,100 We look at what it means to love God 10 00:00:24,100 –> 00:00:26,080 with all your heart and with all your soul 11 00:00:26,080 –> 00:00:28,500 and out of all your strength. 12 00:00:28,680 –> 00:00:30,219 We look at what it means to really love 13 00:00:30,219 –> 00:00:33,320 your neighbor as yourself. 14 00:00:33,320 –> 00:00:36,419 What it means and how we can go about getting 15 00:00:36,419 –> 00:00:40,580 out of the clutches of pride and into a lifestyle of praise. 16 00:00:43,200 –> 00:00:45,139 Well, these are searching things and I’m sure 17 00:00:45,139 –> 00:00:46,680 that there are going to be more challenges 18 00:00:46,680 –> 00:00:48,119 ahead of us in this series, 19 00:00:48,119 –> 00:00:50,540 but I’ve got some good news for you today. 20 00:00:50,540 –> 00:00:53,299 Today is all about encouragement. 21 00:00:54,680 –> 00:00:56,480 So you can relax. 22 00:00:56,680 –> 00:00:57,860 You can enjoy. 23 00:00:57,860 –> 00:01:00,200 God wants to feed our souls, 24 00:01:01,259 –> 00:01:03,700 and this passage of scripture is all about 25 00:01:03,700 –> 00:01:07,040 the strengthening, the encouraging, 26 00:01:07,040 –> 00:01:09,820 and the nourishing of Christian believers. 27 00:01:09,820 –> 00:01:13,980 I want you today to savor what is yours in Jesus Christ. 28 00:01:15,360 –> 00:01:17,900 I want you to see and to enjoy perhaps 29 00:01:17,900 –> 00:01:22,239 with fresh perspective what Christ has done, 30 00:01:22,239 –> 00:01:25,879 what he is doing, and what he will do in your life 31 00:01:26,099 –> 00:01:29,739 and in the life of every other Christian. 32 00:01:29,739 –> 00:01:31,839 Now, I hope your Bible is open a Deuteronomy 33 00:01:31,839 –> 00:01:32,879 and chapter 16. 34 00:01:32,879 –> 00:01:35,360 Remember that the whole of this book 35 00:01:35,360 –> 00:01:38,019 records the teaching of Moses 36 00:01:38,019 –> 00:01:40,839 in the last weeks before he died, 37 00:01:40,839 –> 00:01:42,900 and so you have the feel of it by now. 38 00:01:42,900 –> 00:01:45,099 The old man is pouring out his heart 39 00:01:45,099 –> 00:01:47,519 to a younger generation. 40 00:01:47,519 –> 00:01:49,519 He’s saying everything that he can say 41 00:01:49,519 –> 00:01:53,199 under the direction of the Holy Spirit of God. 42 00:01:53,199 –> 00:01:55,500 Here are these people and they’re about to enter 43 00:01:55,500 –> 00:01:57,360 the promised land, 44 00:01:57,360 –> 00:01:58,820 and Moses is saying when you get there 45 00:01:58,820 –> 00:02:00,160 don’t forget the Lord 46 00:02:00,160 –> 00:02:02,339 and remember to teach your children 47 00:02:02,339 –> 00:02:04,800 and cancel debts and free your servants 48 00:02:04,800 –> 00:02:08,259 and all these things that we’ve been looking at. 49 00:02:08,259 –> 00:02:12,639 And then right plum in the middle of the book, 50 00:02:12,639 –> 00:02:14,940 here in chapter 16, 51 00:02:16,000 –> 00:02:19,119 Moses, as it were, pauses, 52 00:02:19,119 –> 00:02:19,940 and then he says, 53 00:02:19,940 –> 00:02:23,059 there’s something else I’ve got to say to you. 54 00:02:23,139 –> 00:02:27,940 When you into the land rejoice, 55 00:02:27,940 –> 00:02:29,979 enjoy, 56 00:02:29,979 –> 00:02:31,259 celebrate, 57 00:02:31,259 –> 00:02:33,380 in fact, that one word celebrate 58 00:02:33,380 –> 00:02:36,100 is the word that you could write as a banner 59 00:02:36,100 –> 00:02:39,779 over the whole of Deuteronomy and chapter 16. 60 00:02:39,779 –> 00:02:40,759 Do you see it there? 61 00:02:40,759 –> 00:02:43,660 Verse one, celebrate the Passover. 62 00:02:43,660 –> 00:02:46,839 Verse 10, celebrate the Feast of Weeks. 63 00:02:46,839 –> 00:02:50,740 Verse 13, celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. 64 00:02:50,740 –> 00:02:54,059 Verse 11, rejoice before the Lord your God. 65 00:02:54,059 –> 00:02:57,119 Verse 14, be joyful at your feast. 66 00:02:57,119 –> 00:03:02,119 Verse 15, your joy will be complete. 67 00:03:02,639 –> 00:03:04,839 Now I read this chapter I think immediately 68 00:03:04,839 –> 00:03:08,240 of Romans chapter five and verse 11 in the New Testament 69 00:03:08,240 –> 00:03:11,240 when Paul says we rejoice in God 70 00:03:11,240 –> 00:03:13,479 because that’s what this is all about. 71 00:03:13,479 –> 00:03:16,000 This is the character of the Christian community. 72 00:03:16,000 –> 00:03:18,080 This is the mark of a Christian church. 73 00:03:18,080 –> 00:03:22,479 We are the people who rejoice in God 74 00:03:22,479 –> 00:03:24,679 and right back in the Old Testament 75 00:03:24,679 –> 00:03:28,860 Moses is telling God’s people how they are to do this, 76 00:03:28,860 –> 00:03:33,119 how they are to cultivate a spirit of joy 77 00:03:33,119 –> 00:03:35,580 that with all the pressures and all the difficulties 78 00:03:35,580 –> 00:03:38,559 of life that come wherever you are placed in this world 79 00:03:38,559 –> 00:03:42,160 that we should learn what it is to rejoice in God 80 00:03:42,160 –> 00:03:46,440 through our Lord Jesus Christ. 81 00:03:46,500 –> 00:03:50,080 Now I want you to notice that Moses tells them 82 00:03:50,080 –> 00:03:54,880 to observe specific occasions, 83 00:03:54,880 –> 00:03:59,559 particular events that have the single purpose 84 00:03:59,559 –> 00:04:02,759 of cultivating joy. 85 00:04:02,759 –> 00:04:04,880 And there are three festivals 86 00:04:04,880 –> 00:04:07,839 that are picked out by Moses here. 87 00:04:07,839 –> 00:04:09,940 There are many more that are in the Old Testament 88 00:04:09,940 –> 00:04:12,119 but these seem to be the top three. 89 00:04:12,119 –> 00:04:15,039 Moses attaches special importance to them 90 00:04:15,199 –> 00:04:16,440 and they were a big deal 91 00:04:16,440 –> 00:04:19,359 because they were held at one location. 92 00:04:19,359 –> 00:04:21,440 So wherever you were in the Nation of Israel, 93 00:04:21,440 –> 00:04:23,399 you had to come to one place 94 00:04:23,399 –> 00:04:26,760 in order to celebrate each of these festivals 95 00:04:26,760 –> 00:04:28,399 at different times of the year. 96 00:04:28,399 –> 00:04:30,679 So you see that in verse five for example, 97 00:04:30,679 –> 00:04:34,239 you must not sacrifice the Passover in any town. 98 00:04:34,239 –> 00:04:36,559 This is not some kind of a local deal. 99 00:04:36,559 –> 00:04:39,239 You’re to do it in the place that God will choose 100 00:04:39,239 –> 00:04:41,260 as a dwelling for his name. 101 00:04:41,260 –> 00:04:44,239 And you find the same thing being said in verse 11 102 00:04:44,239 –> 00:04:46,940 and the same thing being said in verse 15. 103 00:04:46,940 –> 00:04:51,799 The whole nation is to gather for a great celebration, 104 00:04:51,799 –> 00:04:54,399 and Moses says it’s to happen in these three ways 105 00:04:54,399 –> 00:04:58,019 at these three distinct times of the year. 106 00:04:58,019 –> 00:04:59,739 Now you say, where is this place 107 00:04:59,739 –> 00:05:02,160 that God would put his name 108 00:05:02,160 –> 00:05:04,600 that’s referred to three times in the chapter. 109 00:05:04,600 –> 00:05:09,040 Well, later King David identified that place as Jerusalem. 110 00:05:09,040 –> 00:05:10,380 That this was indeed the place 111 00:05:10,380 –> 00:05:12,799 where God had chosen to put his name, 112 00:05:12,920 –> 00:05:15,739 and so people would come from all Israel 113 00:05:15,739 –> 00:05:19,700 for these three different festivals, these great feasts 114 00:05:19,700 –> 00:05:23,420 where the nation gathered at three points in the year 115 00:05:23,420 –> 00:05:25,700 in the great city of Jerusalem, 116 00:05:25,700 –> 00:05:28,380 and of course, when you roll through to the New Testament, 117 00:05:28,380 –> 00:05:31,140 you’ll find that these feasts were important 118 00:05:31,140 –> 00:05:33,700 in the life of our Lord Jesus. 119 00:05:33,700 –> 00:05:36,179 For example, in Luke chapter two in verse 41, 120 00:05:36,179 –> 00:05:39,980 we’re told every year, every year, 121 00:05:40,839 –> 00:05:42,420 That’s Jesus’ parents. 122 00:05:42,420 –> 00:05:44,959 His parents went to Jerusalem 123 00:05:44,959 –> 00:05:48,399 for the feast of the Passover, they went every year. 124 00:05:48,399 –> 00:05:50,299 So this was part of the rhythm 125 00:05:50,299 –> 00:05:55,200 of the life of our Lord Jesus growing up as a boy every year. 126 00:05:55,200 –> 00:05:57,519 His parents went to Jerusalem for this feast 127 00:05:57,519 –> 00:06:00,399 that’s described in Deuteronomy 16. 128 00:06:00,399 –> 00:06:02,359 You may remember in John chapter seven, 129 00:06:02,359 –> 00:06:04,279 there’s a long section there 130 00:06:05,100 –> 00:06:06,799 where the brothers of Jesus say, 131 00:06:06,799 –> 00:06:09,640 now, you should go up to Jerusalem for the feast. 132 00:06:09,679 –> 00:06:12,200 We’re referring there to the Feast of Tabernacles. 133 00:06:12,200 –> 00:06:14,640 That’s the third one mentioned here. 134 00:06:14,640 –> 00:06:19,220 And Jesus says to them, no, my time has not yet come. 135 00:06:19,220 –> 00:06:20,480 So the brothers go up, 136 00:06:20,480 –> 00:06:23,119 and then later Jesus goes up not with them, 137 00:06:23,119 –> 00:06:26,220 but John says Jesus went privately, he went secretly. 138 00:06:27,040 –> 00:06:28,959 And then you remember, in John chapter seven, 139 00:06:28,959 –> 00:06:33,959 it says on the last and greatest day of the feast. 140 00:06:34,000 –> 00:06:35,380 That’s the Feast of Tabernacles, 141 00:06:35,380 –> 00:06:36,880 that’s right here in Deuteronomy. 142 00:06:36,880 –> 00:06:39,540 On the last day of that feast, Jesus stood up and he said, 143 00:06:39,540 –> 00:06:42,299 in a loud voice, if anyone is thirsty, 144 00:06:42,299 –> 00:06:43,739 let him come to me and drink. 145 00:06:43,739 –> 00:06:45,660 Can you imagine the drama of that? 146 00:06:45,660 –> 00:06:48,279 It was a great crowd in Jerusalem. 147 00:06:48,279 –> 00:06:53,279 And Jesus speaking these great and glorious words. 148 00:06:53,459 –> 00:06:56,339 Now, again, there are other feasts in the Old Testament, 149 00:06:56,339 –> 00:06:58,100 but Moses picks out these three 150 00:06:58,100 –> 00:07:00,559 that were tied to specific events 151 00:07:00,559 –> 00:07:04,059 that had special importance for the people of God. 152 00:07:04,059 –> 00:07:06,899 And he says, celebrate these feasts every year, 153 00:07:06,899 –> 00:07:08,619 it will strengthen your faith 154 00:07:08,660 –> 00:07:11,299 and it will increase your joy. 155 00:07:11,299 –> 00:07:13,420 And so let’s, before we get into this, 156 00:07:13,420 –> 00:07:16,140 just remember the importance of celebration. 157 00:07:16,980 –> 00:07:21,440 See, what you know can leave you unaffected, 158 00:07:22,440 –> 00:07:25,339 but what you celebrate will shape your life. 159 00:07:26,339 –> 00:07:29,459 What you know can leave you unaffected, 160 00:07:29,459 –> 00:07:34,179 but what you celebrate can shape your life. 161 00:07:35,140 –> 00:07:36,799 So folks, if you think about it, 162 00:07:36,799 –> 00:07:39,359 what we celebrate is very important 163 00:07:39,359 –> 00:07:42,019 and says a great deal about us. 164 00:07:42,019 –> 00:07:45,079 In fact, you can tell a great deal about a family 165 00:07:45,079 –> 00:07:48,119 by what they celebrate and by what they don’t celebrate. 166 00:07:49,059 –> 00:07:50,799 You can tell a great deal about a church 167 00:07:50,799 –> 00:07:53,220 by what it chooses to celebrate, 168 00:07:53,220 –> 00:07:55,480 tell a great deal about a nation 169 00:07:55,480 –> 00:07:59,040 by simply looking at what it celebrates. 170 00:08:01,519 –> 00:08:02,779 So I’ve just been making a list here. 171 00:08:03,640 –> 00:08:04,880 What do you celebrate? 172 00:08:05,799 –> 00:08:09,440 And in terms of personal celebrations, birthdays. 173 00:08:10,540 –> 00:08:13,559 Now, everyone is glad if someone sends you a birthday card, 174 00:08:13,559 –> 00:08:14,859 there’s someone else in the world 175 00:08:14,859 –> 00:08:18,239 who’s celebrating you, and it brings joy. 176 00:08:18,239 –> 00:08:20,200 We celebrate anniversaries 177 00:08:20,200 –> 00:08:21,920 because of the importance of marriage. 178 00:08:21,920 –> 00:08:23,679 Then there’s the hallmark celebrations 179 00:08:23,679 –> 00:08:25,420 as I like to call them, 180 00:08:25,420 –> 00:08:27,920 Valentine’s day, a celebration of love. 181 00:08:27,920 –> 00:08:29,480 That’s worth celebrating, isn’t it? 182 00:08:29,480 –> 00:08:33,200 The gift of love, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, 183 00:08:33,900 –> 00:08:36,580 national celebrations. 184 00:08:36,580 –> 00:08:39,099 No other nation in the world to my knowledge 185 00:08:39,099 –> 00:08:40,500 has Thanksgiving. 186 00:08:41,580 –> 00:08:43,320 What a marvelous celebration 187 00:08:43,320 –> 00:08:46,159 of God’s goodness in sustaining life. 188 00:08:46,159 –> 00:08:47,280 That’s a great thing, it says 189 00:08:47,280 –> 00:08:50,219 something wonderful about our nation. 190 00:08:50,219 –> 00:08:53,140 Think about our national celebrations. 191 00:08:53,140 –> 00:08:55,840 Independence day, 4th of July, 192 00:08:55,840 –> 00:08:59,219 you know the question I’ve been most asked in 14 years is 193 00:08:59,219 –> 00:09:03,119 do they have the 4th of July in Great Britain, 194 00:09:03,219 –> 00:09:04,840 people ask that question all the time? 195 00:09:04,840 –> 00:09:07,340 Let me tell you this, it always amuses me, 196 00:09:07,340 –> 00:09:09,979 in this marvelous country we set off fireworks 197 00:09:09,979 –> 00:09:12,119 to celebrate independence day, 198 00:09:12,119 –> 00:09:16,599 in Britain they set off fireworks on the 5th of November 199 00:09:16,599 –> 00:09:18,719 to celebrate what? 200 00:09:18,719 –> 00:09:22,760 A failed terrorist attempt sometime in medieval days 201 00:09:22,760 –> 00:09:25,719 in which a man by the name of Guy Fawkes 202 00:09:25,719 –> 00:09:28,640 attempted to blow up the houses of parliament. 203 00:09:28,640 –> 00:09:30,859 In America we celebrate independence, 204 00:09:30,880 –> 00:09:33,940 in Britain they celebrate the failure of terrorism 205 00:09:33,940 –> 00:09:36,460 so, I don’t know what that says 206 00:09:36,460 –> 00:09:38,280 but it says something about a nation 207 00:09:38,280 –> 00:09:40,020 when you look at what it celebrates. 208 00:09:40,020 –> 00:09:41,780 What does the church celebrate? 209 00:09:43,179 –> 00:09:46,020 Well the church has given these two distinct celebrations, 210 00:09:46,020 –> 00:09:48,599 we celebrate union with Christ 211 00:09:48,599 –> 00:09:53,599 and baptism celebrates that union sealed 212 00:09:54,840 –> 00:09:59,059 and the Lord’s Supper celebrates that union sustained. 213 00:09:59,280 –> 00:10:04,039 Then of course there are the great Christian celebrations 214 00:10:04,039 –> 00:10:06,859 in the broader culture, Christmas, 215 00:10:06,859 –> 00:10:09,460 the incarnation of the son of God, 216 00:10:09,460 –> 00:10:14,419 Easter, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, 217 00:10:14,419 –> 00:10:17,359 our savior and our Lord. 218 00:10:18,640 –> 00:10:20,820 The festival that seems to me to be growing 219 00:10:20,820 –> 00:10:23,640 more than any other these days in our culture 220 00:10:23,640 –> 00:10:25,719 is the one that confuses me, 221 00:10:26,619 –> 00:10:27,500 Halloween. 222 00:10:28,440 –> 00:10:29,260 And I’ll tell you this, 223 00:10:29,260 –> 00:10:32,719 it confuses me because I cannot work out 224 00:10:32,719 –> 00:10:37,080 exactly what is being celebrated. 225 00:10:37,080 –> 00:10:37,919 Can you? 226 00:10:39,719 –> 00:10:41,119 I’ve got better things to do 227 00:10:41,119 –> 00:10:43,140 than mount a campaign against Halloween, 228 00:10:43,140 –> 00:10:45,219 so I’ll resist that temptation. 229 00:10:45,219 –> 00:10:46,940 And just so you know, our kids, 230 00:10:46,940 –> 00:10:48,880 when they were growing up could never resist 231 00:10:48,880 –> 00:10:51,719 the opportunity of gathering a bag of candy 232 00:10:51,719 –> 00:10:54,659 and we enjoyed that with them. 233 00:10:54,659 –> 00:10:56,460 So if you wanna make a big deal of Halloween, 234 00:10:56,460 –> 00:10:59,340 I am not going to criticize you for that. 235 00:10:59,340 –> 00:11:03,559 But seriously, what is exactly 236 00:11:03,559 –> 00:11:07,400 the great truth being celebrated? 237 00:11:07,400 –> 00:11:09,219 What is the great event? 238 00:11:09,219 –> 00:11:15,500 What is the great doctrine that is at the core of this? 239 00:11:15,500 –> 00:11:17,119 I’ve read the history, 240 00:11:17,119 –> 00:11:19,000 you don’t need to send me an email on that. 241 00:11:19,000 –> 00:11:22,340 It’s not especially edifying. 242 00:11:23,340 –> 00:11:26,960 But the idea of celebrating darkness and fear 243 00:11:26,960 –> 00:11:30,799 leaves me completely cold. 244 00:11:30,799 –> 00:11:38,020 Celebrations matter because they identify what we value. 245 00:11:38,020 –> 00:11:40,640 And that’s why Deuteronomy chapter 16 246 00:11:40,640 –> 00:11:43,260 is so important in the Old Testament, 247 00:11:43,260 –> 00:11:45,640 and that is why it is so important for us. 248 00:11:45,640 –> 00:11:47,880 Because it raises the question for the people of God, 249 00:11:47,880 –> 00:11:51,859 what is worth celebrating? 250 00:11:51,859 –> 00:11:54,099 What is there that’s so important, 251 00:11:54,099 –> 00:11:57,659 that you want to get it beyond the level of what you know, 252 00:11:57,659 –> 00:11:59,960 you want to get it worked into you, 253 00:11:59,960 –> 00:12:04,340 so it shapes your very life? 254 00:12:04,340 –> 00:12:07,919 And Moses has three answers to that question. 255 00:12:07,919 –> 00:12:15,559 Number one, celebrate the feast of Passover. 256 00:12:15,559 –> 00:12:19,859 Now, you can read the story of Passover in Exodus, 257 00:12:19,859 –> 00:12:21,919 in chapter 12. 258 00:12:21,919 –> 00:12:25,039 Many of you will know this story well, 259 00:12:25,039 –> 00:12:26,900 but to refresh our memories, God’s people 260 00:12:26,900 –> 00:12:29,080 were slaves in Egypt. 261 00:12:29,080 –> 00:12:33,159 It had been like that over 400 years. 262 00:12:33,159 –> 00:12:36,299 And they had been oppressed by a cruel tyrant 263 00:12:36,299 –> 00:12:38,919 who defied God and abused his people. 264 00:12:38,919 –> 00:12:42,200 And God said to the tyrant, let my people go. 265 00:12:42,280 –> 00:12:46,419 But the pharaoh cared nothing for the word of God, 266 00:12:47,280 –> 00:12:51,919 so God came down in judgment and in mercy. 267 00:12:53,119 –> 00:12:57,280 The judgment broke the power of Pharaoh, thank God. 268 00:12:57,280 –> 00:13:00,419 His mercy protected his own people. 269 00:13:01,679 –> 00:13:05,440 The Bible says that the wages of sin is death 270 00:13:05,440 –> 00:13:08,359 and death came on that night of the Passover 271 00:13:08,359 –> 00:13:10,500 to every home in Egypt. 272 00:13:10,539 –> 00:13:13,820 It was an awful night of God’s judgment 273 00:13:13,820 –> 00:13:17,840 as the final day of God’s judgment will be an awful day. 274 00:13:19,340 –> 00:13:21,739 But God said to his people, 275 00:13:21,739 –> 00:13:26,020 sacrifice a lamb and take the blood 276 00:13:26,020 –> 00:13:27,700 from the sacrificed animal 277 00:13:27,700 –> 00:13:30,940 and paint it over the lintels and the posts 278 00:13:30,940 –> 00:13:33,059 at the frame of your door. 279 00:13:33,059 –> 00:13:35,820 And then God said, Exodus 12, 13, 280 00:13:35,979 –> 00:13:40,320 when I see the blood, I will pass over you. 281 00:13:42,219 –> 00:13:45,239 Now you see, that’s where pass over comes from. 282 00:13:45,239 –> 00:13:47,419 From Exodus chapter 12 and verse 13. 283 00:13:47,419 –> 00:13:50,739 God says, when I see the blood of the sacrificed animal 284 00:13:50,739 –> 00:13:55,739 painted on your doorframes, I will pass over you. 285 00:13:57,000 –> 00:14:01,859 God saved his people from fearsome wrath in his judgment 286 00:14:01,859 –> 00:14:04,020 and brought them out of slavery 287 00:14:04,099 –> 00:14:07,219 and made a covenant with them through the blood 288 00:14:07,219 –> 00:14:09,479 of a sacrifice applied to them. 289 00:14:10,859 –> 00:14:14,280 And Moses says, celebrate this. 290 00:14:15,940 –> 00:14:17,919 Now I’ve been thinking, what would I have done? 291 00:14:17,919 –> 00:14:19,700 What would you have done, 292 00:14:19,700 –> 00:14:21,020 if you had been one of these people 293 00:14:21,020 –> 00:14:23,599 and Moses had said you got to sacrifice an animal 294 00:14:23,599 –> 00:14:27,539 and you got to paint the blood over your doorframes? 295 00:14:27,539 –> 00:14:30,700 Can you imagine being out there with the guy next door? 296 00:14:31,700 –> 00:14:34,599 And you’re saying, do we really need to do this? 297 00:14:34,599 –> 00:14:36,479 Are you going to do it? 298 00:14:37,500 –> 00:14:38,500 Can it work? 299 00:14:40,380 –> 00:14:42,099 Will it make any difference? 300 00:14:43,580 –> 00:14:46,580 Have you ever heard anything that sounds so strange? 301 00:14:48,739 –> 00:14:50,219 Would you have taken God at His word, 302 00:14:50,219 –> 00:14:51,820 would you have done what He said? 303 00:14:53,340 –> 00:14:55,859 Well, God said it and His people did it 304 00:14:55,859 –> 00:15:00,539 and through the blood of the sacrifice over them. 305 00:15:01,700 –> 00:15:03,780 They were saved from God’s judgment 306 00:15:03,780 –> 00:15:05,179 that came over the whole land 307 00:15:05,179 –> 00:15:07,880 and brought into a covenant in which God says to them, 308 00:15:07,880 –> 00:15:12,239 I will be your God and you will be my people. 309 00:15:12,239 –> 00:15:16,500 Now Moses says that is worth celebrating. 310 00:15:16,500 –> 00:15:18,659 And do you see how they celebrated the Passover? 311 00:15:18,659 –> 00:15:21,219 Verse 3, they ate the bread affliction, 312 00:15:21,219 –> 00:15:23,900 for seven days eat unleavened bread, 313 00:15:23,900 –> 00:15:25,179 the bread of affliction, 314 00:15:25,179 –> 00:15:26,640 so that you may remember the time 315 00:15:26,640 –> 00:15:28,580 of your departure from Egypt. 316 00:15:28,580 –> 00:15:30,020 So imagine this, 317 00:15:30,260 –> 00:15:32,500 if you’re living up somewhere in the north of Israel, 318 00:15:32,500 –> 00:15:34,940 as the Lord Jesus was in Nazareth 319 00:15:34,940 –> 00:15:37,020 and old family comes down on foot, 320 00:15:37,020 –> 00:15:40,099 all of these miles to Jerusalem, long, long journey, 321 00:15:40,099 –> 00:15:42,140 and you come for this great festival 322 00:15:42,140 –> 00:15:47,020 and what do you get to eat for seven days, dry crackers? 323 00:15:47,020 –> 00:15:48,880 You imagine the kids? 324 00:15:48,880 –> 00:15:51,260 We came all this way for this? 325 00:15:51,260 –> 00:15:53,179 Dry crackers. 326 00:15:54,900 –> 00:15:57,619 Centuries after the Exodus, 327 00:15:57,979 –> 00:16:01,239 all those events to Zion this time, 328 00:16:01,239 –> 00:16:04,659 the first huge protest was born in Jerusalem, 329 00:16:04,659 –> 00:16:06,979 celebrating God’s urgent call, 330 00:16:08,640 –> 00:16:12,299 God’s urge to confront andThank the Lord. 331 00:16:12,299 –> 00:16:15,380 This was at this particular place, 332 00:16:15,380 –> 00:16:18,340 and many Jewish temple in Jerusalem, 333 00:16:18,340 –> 00:16:21,299 and while G Throughout the year what happened 334 00:16:21,299 –> 00:16:23,299 was the Jewish people did not take it 335 00:16:23,299 –> 00:16:25,820 as seriously as God’s people 336 00:16:25,900 –> 00:16:28,580 and wouldn’t go with all of this. 337 00:16:31,299 –> 00:16:35,320 You remember when John the Baptist first saw Jesus, 338 00:16:35,320 –> 00:16:38,059 he said, behold, the Lamb of God 339 00:16:39,419 –> 00:16:41,260 who takes away the sin of the world. 340 00:16:41,260 –> 00:16:42,599 If you look at Jesus, he says, 341 00:16:42,599 –> 00:16:46,780 here’s the Lamb who will take away the sin of the world. 342 00:16:47,640 –> 00:16:49,539 And then you remember that the Lord Jesus 343 00:16:49,539 –> 00:16:53,340 was crucified at what time in the Jewish year? 344 00:16:53,340 –> 00:16:54,159 Passover. 345 00:16:54,979 –> 00:16:58,599 That’s why on the night he was betrayed, 346 00:16:58,599 –> 00:17:00,780 the night before he was crucified, 347 00:17:00,780 –> 00:17:04,359 he says in Luke chapter 12 and verse 15 to his disciples, 348 00:17:04,359 –> 00:17:07,040 I have eagerly desired to do what? 349 00:17:07,040 –> 00:17:09,459 To eat the Passover with you. 350 00:17:11,500 –> 00:17:14,660 And as he eats the Passover with them, 351 00:17:14,660 –> 00:17:18,119 this is straight out of Deuteronomy 16, 352 00:17:18,119 –> 00:17:18,959 what does he do? 353 00:17:18,959 –> 00:17:22,380 He takes bread, he takes the dry crackers 354 00:17:23,000 –> 00:17:24,400 and he breaks it, 355 00:17:25,640 –> 00:17:29,900 and he says this is my body and it is given for you. 356 00:17:31,479 –> 00:17:34,239 And then he takes a cup 357 00:17:34,239 –> 00:17:35,939 and then the same way after the supper, 358 00:17:35,939 –> 00:17:39,199 Luke says he took the cup and he said this cup 359 00:17:39,199 –> 00:17:41,479 is the new covenant in my blood 360 00:17:41,479 –> 00:17:43,599 which is poured out for you. 361 00:17:43,599 –> 00:17:45,359 Now you see what Jesus was saying 362 00:17:45,359 –> 00:17:48,520 in the Passover, right there, 363 00:17:48,520 –> 00:17:52,079 he’s saying this mighty intervention of God 364 00:17:52,140 –> 00:17:55,079 in the Exodus, the greatest thing that has ever happened 365 00:17:55,079 –> 00:17:56,920 in all of Israel’s history. 366 00:17:57,800 –> 00:18:00,640 This mighty intervention that we are celebrating 367 00:18:00,640 –> 00:18:03,920 in the Passover tonight is only a shadow, 368 00:18:03,920 –> 00:18:07,739 he says to his disciples of what God is right about to do. 369 00:18:09,000 –> 00:18:11,959 Because God is going to make an even greater intervention 370 00:18:11,959 –> 00:18:13,839 and here is how he is going to do it. 371 00:18:13,839 –> 00:18:18,000 My blood will be poured out, my body will be broken, 372 00:18:18,000 –> 00:18:19,920 I will become the sacrifice 373 00:18:19,920 –> 00:18:23,660 by which you will be redeemed from divine wrath. 374 00:18:23,660 –> 00:18:25,640 I will become the sacrifice 375 00:18:25,640 –> 00:18:29,739 by which you will be set free from sin’s power. 376 00:18:31,079 –> 00:18:33,819 And so when we celebrate the Lord’s supper, 377 00:18:33,819 –> 00:18:35,359 we don’t roast a lamb 378 00:18:36,380 –> 00:18:39,300 because the sacrifice has been made. 379 00:18:40,640 –> 00:18:43,079 But we take the bread and then we take the cup 380 00:18:44,239 –> 00:18:46,680 and we remember that Christ’s blood was shed 381 00:18:46,680 –> 00:18:49,719 and that by faith, when the blood of Christ 382 00:18:49,719 –> 00:18:51,780 is applied to your life, 383 00:18:53,199 –> 00:18:57,300 you are saved from the wrath of God. 384 00:18:58,199 –> 00:19:00,219 You are brought out of the position 385 00:19:00,219 –> 00:19:03,839 you used to be in as a slave to sin. 386 00:19:03,839 –> 00:19:06,459 You are brought into a covenant with God 387 00:19:06,459 –> 00:19:11,459 in which he says, I am yours and you are mine. 388 00:19:14,339 –> 00:19:16,839 That is something worth celebrating. 389 00:19:16,839 –> 00:19:19,459 And folks, this is not a process, 390 00:19:19,459 –> 00:19:22,000 it is what has been accomplished. 391 00:19:22,000 –> 00:19:24,199 God gives you this feast 392 00:19:24,199 –> 00:19:26,660 so that you won’t spend the rest of your life 393 00:19:26,660 –> 00:19:28,219 wondering if he loves you. 394 00:19:30,000 –> 00:19:31,400 God gives you this feast 395 00:19:31,400 –> 00:19:34,739 so that you will see that he loves you 396 00:19:34,739 –> 00:19:37,920 as faith approaches the cross. 397 00:19:38,880 –> 00:19:39,800 It’s what faith does, 398 00:19:39,800 –> 00:19:43,319 it sees the love of God in the cross. 399 00:19:43,319 –> 00:19:44,160 That’s faith. 400 00:19:45,160 –> 00:19:47,060 And God gives you this feast 401 00:19:47,060 –> 00:19:49,060 so that you will not spend the rest of your life 402 00:19:49,060 –> 00:19:51,000 wondering if you will be forgiven. 403 00:19:51,959 –> 00:19:53,560 You are forgiven in the cross, 404 00:19:53,560 –> 00:19:55,339 and faith sees that. 405 00:19:56,599 –> 00:19:58,319 God gives you this feast 406 00:19:58,319 –> 00:20:00,319 so that you will not spend the rest of your life 407 00:20:00,319 –> 00:20:02,280 living as if you were still a slave. 408 00:20:02,280 –> 00:20:04,640 You see, this is the whole point of the Passover, 409 00:20:04,640 –> 00:20:07,239 God’s people saw that he had put them 410 00:20:07,239 –> 00:20:09,260 in an entirely new position, 411 00:20:09,260 –> 00:20:11,760 and no matter what their difficulties in life, 412 00:20:11,760 –> 00:20:13,160 they were not slaves. 413 00:20:13,219 –> 00:20:14,920 That’s what God wants you to see. 414 00:20:16,680 –> 00:20:19,959 This is what God speaks from the cross. 415 00:20:19,959 –> 00:20:21,880 You may face all kinds of problems, 416 00:20:21,880 –> 00:20:23,160 you may have all kinds of battles, 417 00:20:23,160 –> 00:20:24,939 you may experience many defeats, 418 00:20:24,939 –> 00:20:26,380 but you are not a slave. 419 00:20:26,380 –> 00:20:27,339 You are redeemed. 420 00:20:27,339 –> 00:20:30,819 You are set free by the blood of Jesus Christ. 421 00:20:30,819 –> 00:20:32,619 Sin will always be your enemy, 422 00:20:32,619 –> 00:20:35,439 but it is no longer your Master. 423 00:20:35,439 –> 00:20:38,439 Christ redeemed us. 424 00:20:38,500 –> 00:20:42,079 And that is something worth celebrating, isn’t it? 425 00:20:42,079 –> 00:20:42,920 It is. 426 00:20:44,880 –> 00:20:46,699 And here’s the second. 427 00:20:46,699 –> 00:20:47,540 Verse 9. 428 00:20:49,599 –> 00:20:52,439 Celebrate verse 10 rather, 429 00:20:52,439 –> 00:20:55,280 the feast of weeks. 430 00:20:57,280 –> 00:21:00,319 Now the timing of these festivals 431 00:21:00,319 –> 00:21:01,719 is a matter of some debate 432 00:21:01,719 –> 00:21:05,040 and in order to keep this to time, 433 00:21:05,040 –> 00:21:07,939 we’re not going to go there today, 434 00:21:07,939 –> 00:21:11,260 but let me simply make two observations. 435 00:21:11,260 –> 00:21:15,900 The feast of weeks is obviously connected with the harvest. 436 00:21:15,900 –> 00:21:16,959 See that in verse 9. 437 00:21:16,959 –> 00:21:19,420 Count off seven weeks from the time you begin 438 00:21:19,420 –> 00:21:22,280 to put the sickle to the standing grain. 439 00:21:22,280 –> 00:21:25,380 So it’s connected with harvest. 440 00:21:25,380 –> 00:21:28,420 If you check out Exodus chapter 23 and verse 16, 441 00:21:28,420 –> 00:21:31,319 it is actually called the feast of harvest. 442 00:21:31,319 –> 00:21:33,619 You have the same three feasts that are mentioned there, 443 00:21:33,619 –> 00:21:35,780 but by different names. 444 00:21:35,819 –> 00:21:38,479 And Moses says in Exodus that it is the feast 445 00:21:38,479 –> 00:21:41,780 of harvest with the first fruits of the crops, 446 00:21:41,780 –> 00:21:43,859 so the beginning of the sickle going in 447 00:21:43,859 –> 00:21:45,140 is obviously significant. 448 00:21:45,140 –> 00:21:46,619 The first fruits. 449 00:21:48,000 –> 00:21:50,660 So it’s tied to harvest and the second observation 450 00:21:50,660 –> 00:21:53,300 is it’s tied to the beginning of harvest 451 00:21:53,300 –> 00:21:54,979 and this becomes especially clear 452 00:21:54,979 –> 00:21:58,579 in Numbers chapter 28 and verse 26 where again 453 00:21:58,579 –> 00:22:01,939 it is associated with the first fruits. 454 00:22:01,939 –> 00:22:04,180 That is, the first samples of the harvest 455 00:22:04,619 –> 00:22:07,319 that the people brought as a gift before the Lord. 456 00:22:07,319 –> 00:22:11,319 Moses says in Numbers 28, on the day of first fruits, 457 00:22:12,939 –> 00:22:15,719 when you present to the Lord an offering of new grain 458 00:22:15,719 –> 00:22:17,479 during the feast of weeks. 459 00:22:17,479 –> 00:22:21,819 So the day of first fruits comes during the feast of weeks. 460 00:22:21,819 –> 00:22:24,520 So clearly this is a celebration 461 00:22:24,520 –> 00:22:26,579 that relates to the harvest and relates 462 00:22:26,579 –> 00:22:30,079 to the beginning of the harvest. 463 00:22:31,079 –> 00:22:35,739 Now, where does the New Testament go with this? 464 00:22:35,739 –> 00:22:36,739 Two answers. 465 00:22:38,400 –> 00:22:41,540 Number one, it goes to the resurrection 466 00:22:41,540 –> 00:22:43,699 of our Lord, Jesus Christ. 467 00:22:46,199 –> 00:22:49,660 Because Jesus Christ, in the New Testament, 468 00:22:49,660 –> 00:22:51,739 is the first fruit. 469 00:22:51,739 –> 00:22:55,339 Do you remember this from 1 Corinthians in chapter 15? 470 00:22:55,339 –> 00:22:56,880 If you’re familiar with the Messiah, 471 00:22:56,880 –> 00:22:59,339 you can hardly hear verses from 1 Corinthians 15 472 00:22:59,560 –> 00:23:02,920 without hearing the music in your mind and in your heart. 473 00:23:02,920 –> 00:23:06,819 Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, 474 00:23:06,819 –> 00:23:11,819 the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. 475 00:23:12,900 –> 00:23:16,420 Now the first fruit was a kind of a sample. 476 00:23:16,420 –> 00:23:19,219 It was a taste, it was a pledge 477 00:23:19,219 –> 00:23:21,579 of what was still to follow in the harvest, 478 00:23:21,579 –> 00:23:23,500 and Paul says in 1 Corinthians, 479 00:23:23,500 –> 00:23:25,579 Christ is the first fruit. 480 00:23:26,739 –> 00:23:27,920 So think about this, now, 481 00:23:27,920 –> 00:23:31,060 you see Jesus has been raised from the dead. 482 00:23:31,060 –> 00:23:32,079 Now, someone might say, 483 00:23:32,079 –> 00:23:34,380 well, that’s marvelous, but what has it got to do with me? 484 00:23:34,380 –> 00:23:35,780 Here’s Paul’s answer, 485 00:23:35,780 –> 00:23:40,520 he is the first fruit of those who have fallen asleep. 486 00:23:40,520 –> 00:23:43,660 In other words, he rose not only for himself, 487 00:23:43,660 –> 00:23:47,119 but he rose as the first of many. 488 00:23:47,119 –> 00:23:50,199 And just as the first basket of fruit 489 00:23:50,199 –> 00:23:52,599 that is picked from a tree 490 00:23:52,599 –> 00:23:56,020 gives you a sample of all that’s to come from the tree 491 00:23:56,060 –> 00:23:57,540 in the remainder of the time 492 00:23:57,540 –> 00:24:00,119 during which it will produce fruit, 493 00:24:00,119 –> 00:24:02,459 so the resurrection of Jesus Christ 494 00:24:02,459 –> 00:24:05,819 gives us a first glimpse of the day 495 00:24:05,819 –> 00:24:08,219 when all of God’s people will be changed, 496 00:24:08,219 –> 00:24:09,699 as Paul says in 1 Corinthians, 497 00:24:09,699 –> 00:24:13,420 in a moment and in the twinkling of an eye. 498 00:24:13,420 –> 00:24:16,939 The dead in Christ will be raised incorruptible 499 00:24:16,939 –> 00:24:19,680 and we will be changed. 500 00:24:19,680 –> 00:24:21,099 And do you remember, Paul continues. 501 00:24:21,099 –> 00:24:23,579 He says, as in Adam, all die, 502 00:24:23,579 –> 00:24:26,020 so in Christ, if you’re in Christ, 503 00:24:26,020 –> 00:24:29,339 we will all be made alive but each in his own turn, 504 00:24:29,339 –> 00:24:32,300 and he says it again, Christ is the firstfruits 505 00:24:32,300 –> 00:24:37,300 and then when he comes, those who belong to him. 506 00:24:38,140 –> 00:24:39,579 So it seems very clear to me 507 00:24:39,579 –> 00:24:42,060 that the festival of firstfruits 508 00:24:42,060 –> 00:24:43,520 or the festival of weeks, 509 00:24:43,520 –> 00:24:45,859 you can refer to it in either of these ways. 510 00:24:45,859 –> 00:24:50,859 In the Old Testament, in Deuteronomy 16 points us directly 511 00:24:51,099 –> 00:24:56,099 to our glorious hope in our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ 512 00:24:56,939 –> 00:25:00,160 where the apostles say now he is the first fruit. 513 00:25:00,160 –> 00:25:02,300 He is the guarantee of the resurrection 514 00:25:02,300 –> 00:25:03,540 that lies ahead for you. 515 00:25:05,859 –> 00:25:06,699 That’s the first answer. 516 00:25:06,699 –> 00:25:07,680 Here’s the second. 517 00:25:09,300 –> 00:25:12,359 The New Testament takes this theme of the firstfruits 518 00:25:12,359 –> 00:25:16,300 not only to the resurrection of Jesus Christ 519 00:25:16,300 –> 00:25:21,199 but also wonderfully to the gift of the Holy Spirit. 520 00:25:22,060 –> 00:25:25,339 And I’m thinking here of Romans 8 23 521 00:25:25,339 –> 00:25:28,359 where Paul says we ourselves 522 00:25:28,359 –> 00:25:33,380 who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, 523 00:25:33,400 –> 00:25:35,020 we have the firstfruit of the Spirit. 524 00:25:35,020 –> 00:25:37,300 That’s true of you if you’re a Christian. 525 00:25:37,300 –> 00:25:38,140 What happens? 526 00:25:38,140 –> 00:25:40,640 Well, we grow and eagerly as we await, 527 00:25:40,640 –> 00:25:43,280 inwardly as we await our adoption as sons, 528 00:25:43,280 –> 00:25:46,099 the redemption of our bodies. 529 00:25:47,060 –> 00:25:49,300 Now here’s a fascinating thing, 530 00:25:49,300 –> 00:25:51,099 by the time of the New Testament, 531 00:25:51,099 –> 00:25:55,660 the Feast of Weeks was known by another name. 532 00:25:58,020 –> 00:26:00,020 So you see what it says here, 533 00:26:00,020 –> 00:26:03,280 Count off seven weeks, verse nine, 534 00:26:03,280 –> 00:26:06,699 from the time you begin to put the sickle 535 00:26:06,699 –> 00:26:07,619 into the standing grain. 536 00:26:07,619 –> 00:26:10,079 How long is seven weeks and days it is? 537 00:26:11,140 –> 00:26:12,459 How long is seven weeks and days? 538 00:26:12,459 –> 00:26:15,459 49 days, just checking you’re still with me here. 539 00:26:16,300 –> 00:26:19,380 Okay, so the day that follows the 49 days 540 00:26:19,380 –> 00:26:23,920 that have to be counted off is the 50th day. 541 00:26:23,920 –> 00:26:26,239 And so do you understand why in Greek, 542 00:26:26,239 –> 00:26:30,560 the Feast of Weeks was referred to as, tell me, Pentecost. 543 00:26:32,099 –> 00:26:34,239 So Acts 2, verse one, 544 00:26:34,239 –> 00:26:36,819 so when the day of Pentecost came, 545 00:26:36,819 –> 00:26:39,199 they were all together in one place. 546 00:26:39,199 –>00:26:40,900 Why were they all together in one place? 547 00:26:40,900 –> 00:26:42,939 Why does Luke say in verse five, 548 00:26:43,020 –> 00:26:45,719 that in Jerusalem there were God-fearing Jews 549 00:26:45,719 –> 00:26:47,020 from every nation under heaven? 550 00:26:47,020 –> 00:26:48,660 Why did they come from every nation 551 00:26:48,660 –> 00:26:50,180 under heaven to Jerusalem then? 552 00:26:50,180 –> 00:26:52,500 Answer, they’d come for the feast of weeks, 553 00:26:53,680 –> 00:26:56,619 they’re putting Deuteronomy 16 into practice. 554 00:26:57,560 –> 00:27:00,280 And Luke tells us that it was on that day, 555 00:27:00,280 –> 00:27:02,619 right there in the Feast of Weeks, 556 00:27:02,619 –> 00:27:06,459 that the first fruits of the Spirit 557 00:27:06,459 –> 00:27:10,119 fell upon not just the apostles 558 00:27:10,119 –> 00:27:12,619 but upon all believers, 559 00:27:12,619 –> 00:27:17,280 and that this was the beginning of the harvest 560 00:27:17,280 –> 00:27:20,780 that would come from the death and the resurrection 561 00:27:20,780 –> 00:27:24,699 of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 562 00:27:24,699 –> 00:27:26,459 And so Paul takes this up in Romans 563 00:27:26,459 –> 00:27:28,140 and he says, well now you understand, 564 00:27:28,140 –> 00:27:31,300 the Holy Spirit is given to us as the firstfruits. 565 00:27:31,300 –> 00:27:33,339 Think of what that means. 566 00:27:33,339 –> 00:27:35,640 The Holy Spirit lives within you, 567 00:27:35,680 –> 00:27:39,880 giving you a taste, a sample, an experience 568 00:27:39,880 –> 00:27:43,160 of God now that is just an earnest, 569 00:27:43,160 –> 00:27:45,319 a beginning of what lies ahead of you 570 00:27:45,319 –> 00:27:46,800 as a Christian believer. 571 00:27:46,800 –> 00:27:49,619 You have a taste of the love of God 572 00:27:49,619 –> 00:27:52,339 that you will know in all its fullness in Heaven. 573 00:27:52,339 –> 00:27:55,040 You have a glimpse of the glory of Christ 574 00:27:55,040 –> 00:27:58,359 that you will see in all his beauty 575 00:27:58,359 –> 00:28:00,280 when you arrive in his presence. 576 00:28:00,280 –> 00:28:03,199 You have a beginning of the new life now 577 00:28:03,199 –> 00:28:05,439 that when you enter his glorious presence 578 00:28:05,439 –> 00:28:08,040 will be yours forever and forever. 579 00:28:08,040 –> 00:28:10,439 And that taste, that glimpse, that beginning, 580 00:28:10,439 –> 00:28:15,439 that pledge, that promise of what is still to come, 581 00:28:15,560 –> 00:28:18,000 Paul says it’s ours by the Spirit 582 00:28:18,000 –> 00:28:19,599 and so changing the picture a little 583 00:28:19,599 –> 00:28:23,760 he says the Spirit is given to us as a deposit 584 00:28:23,760 –> 00:28:25,640 guaranteeing what is to come. 585 00:28:25,640 –> 00:28:27,699 You have a taste already. 586 00:28:27,699 –> 00:28:29,599 Just a taste, just a sample, 587 00:28:29,599 –> 00:28:32,060 just like the first basket of fruit 588 00:28:32,060 –> 00:28:34,760 but there’s a whole tree that’s still to issue fruit. 589 00:28:35,780 –> 00:28:37,900 Just like the first sample of grain 590 00:28:37,900 –> 00:28:40,619 and there’s a vast field still to be harvest 591 00:28:40,619 –> 00:28:43,500 but you’ve got a taste already. 592 00:28:43,500 –> 00:28:46,000 The love of God, the grace of Christ. 593 00:28:47,079 –> 00:28:51,900 Presence of the Spirit, the first fruits 594 00:28:51,900 –> 00:28:54,699 and when we taste the first fruit 595 00:28:54,699 –> 00:28:58,579 oh we long, Paul says, for the fullness 596 00:28:58,579 –> 00:29:01,579 that is yet to come. 597 00:29:02,540 –> 00:29:06,900 So the feast of Passover 598 00:29:06,900 –> 00:29:11,900 points us to the redeeming work of Jesus Christ 599 00:29:12,540 –> 00:29:14,959 in his death on the cross. 600 00:29:16,719 –> 00:29:19,260 The feast of weeks or the feast of first fruits 601 00:29:19,260 –> 00:29:20,979 whichever way you want to refer to it 602 00:29:20,979 –> 00:29:23,439 points us to the resurrection of Christ 603 00:29:23,439 –> 00:29:26,599 and to the gift of the Holy Spirit. 604 00:29:26,599 –> 00:29:29,140 To Jesus great promise that ties these two together 605 00:29:29,140 –> 00:29:32,439 he says, I will not leave you as orphans. 606 00:29:32,439 –> 00:29:34,439 I will come to you. 607 00:29:34,439 –> 00:29:35,339 I will come to you. 608 00:29:36,500 –> 00:29:39,800 So Christ redeems us that’s something worth celebrating. 609 00:29:41,859 –> 00:29:44,640 Christ is with us, our risen savior 610 00:29:44,640 –> 00:29:47,060 present by the Spirit today in your life. 611 00:29:47,060 –> 00:29:49,300 That is something worth celebrating. 612 00:29:51,380 –> 00:29:53,020 Here’s the last one more briefly. 613 00:29:54,020 –> 00:29:59,020 Verse 13 celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. 614 00:29:59,819 –> 00:30:02,319 This one also was known by another name 615 00:30:02,319 –> 00:30:06,180 sometimes referred to as the Feast of Booths. 616 00:30:06,180 –> 00:30:07,099 The Feast of Booths. 617 00:30:07,099 –> 00:30:10,359 Now, of all these three festivals, 618 00:30:10,359 –> 00:30:11,819 this one has got to be the one 619 00:30:11,819 –> 00:30:13,859 that was the greatest fun for the kids. 620 00:30:13,859 –> 00:30:15,079 Kids got to love this one 621 00:30:16,260 –> 00:30:18,020 because you find out more detail 622 00:30:18,020 –> 00:30:21,359 about what actually happened in Leviticus chapter 23, 623 00:30:21,420 –> 00:30:22,479 where we read these words, 624 00:30:22,479 –> 00:30:26,359 live in booths for seven days. 625 00:30:26,359 –> 00:30:28,400 You imagine that with the kids. 626 00:30:28,400 –> 00:30:30,359 What they did was they actually built 627 00:30:30,359 –> 00:30:33,599 out of branches from trees and leaves, 628 00:30:33,599 –> 00:30:34,939 they built a kind of shelter, 629 00:30:34,939 –> 00:30:36,859 a sort of tent. 630 00:30:36,859 –> 00:30:39,619 This is camp out folks, that’s what it is. 631 00:30:39,619 –> 00:30:41,420 It’s a week’s camp out 632 00:30:41,420 –> 00:30:44,239 and family is coming from all over the nation. 633 00:30:44,239 –> 00:30:47,359 Can you imagine the excitement of the kids on this one? 634 00:30:47,359 –> 00:30:49,619 Hey, dad, when’s the feast of booths? 635 00:30:49,619 –> 00:30:51,040 When are we going to make our camp out? 636 00:30:51,040 –> 00:30:52,959 You know, got to make a better hut 637 00:30:52,959 –> 00:30:54,099 than the neighbors this year 638 00:30:54,099 –> 00:30:57,119 cause theirs was really cool last time, you see. 639 00:30:57,119 –> 00:30:59,239 So here the nation comes to Jerusalem 640 00:30:59,239 –> 00:31:02,280 and they’re all building these temporary shelters. 641 00:31:03,680 –> 00:31:06,719 Now you say, well why in the world did they do this? 642 00:31:06,719 –> 00:31:09,920 The idea of the festival was very simple 643 00:31:09,920 –> 00:31:13,459 to remind God’s people that when they came out of Egypt, 644 00:31:13,459 –> 00:31:15,619 they did not live in houses 645 00:31:15,619 –> 00:31:17,199 as those in the promised land 646 00:31:17,219 –> 00:31:19,819 and subsequent generations were able to enjoy. 647 00:31:21,040 –> 00:31:23,939 But for 40 years in the desert, 648 00:31:23,939 –> 00:31:28,939 God says I had my people live in tents or booths. 649 00:31:29,359 –> 00:31:34,359 So live in booths for seven days. 650 00:31:37,140 –> 00:31:38,060 You say where in the world 651 00:31:38,060 –> 00:31:39,859 does the new Testament go with that? 652 00:31:42,020 –> 00:31:45,660 Second Corinthians chapter five and verse one. 653 00:31:46,540 –> 00:31:48,160 Listen to this, Paul says, 654 00:31:48,160 –> 00:31:53,160 “‘We know that if this earthly tent we live in 655 00:31:54,020 –> 00:31:59,020 is destroyed, we have a building from God, 656 00:32:00,300 –> 00:32:05,300 an eternal house not made with human hands.’” 657 00:32:05,780 –> 00:32:06,900 That’s where it goes. 658 00:32:08,420 –> 00:32:10,439 Oh, you were living in a lovely house, 659 00:32:10,439 –> 00:32:12,300 here you are in the promised land, 660 00:32:13,219 –> 00:32:15,540 but spend a week every year in a booth. 661 00:32:16,619 –> 00:32:19,319 To remind you that this world is not your home. 662 00:32:20,560 –> 00:32:21,760 You are passing through. 663 00:32:22,939 –> 00:32:25,439 And Paul says, “‘This earthly tent that I live in,’ 664 00:32:25,439 –> 00:32:30,339 this body that decays and ages and wears out 665 00:32:30,339 –> 00:32:33,040 in all kinds of ways over the years, 666 00:32:33,040 –> 00:32:35,160 one day it’s going to be destroyed, 667 00:32:36,160 –> 00:32:38,099 but that’s not going to be the end of me 668 00:32:39,099 –> 00:32:44,099 because God did not create me to live in this booth forever. 669 00:32:45,040 –> 00:32:48,319 But when this earthly tent is destroyed, 670 00:32:48,319 –> 00:32:53,319 we have a building from God not made with human hands.” 671 00:32:53,640 –> 00:32:55,680 You’re talking about the resurrection body. 672 00:32:57,020 –> 00:33:00,319 Folks during the summer I’ve benefited a great deal 673 00:33:00,319 –> 00:33:02,459 from reading John Bunyan. 674 00:33:02,459 –> 00:33:04,060 Most of you will know that name. 675 00:33:05,260 –> 00:33:08,839 He’s best known of course, for Pilgrim’s Progress, 676 00:33:08,839 –> 00:33:11,699 but he wrote many other wonderful, wonderful books 677 00:33:11,699 –> 00:33:13,319 that are much less well known. 678 00:33:14,599 –> 00:33:19,400 Bunyan spent 12 years in prison for preaching the Gospel, 679 00:33:19,400 –> 00:33:22,020 12 years, he only lived to the age of 60. 680 00:33:24,000 –> 00:33:27,819 When he was in court on one of these occasions, 681 00:33:27,819 –> 00:33:30,500 the judge made it clear to him, 682 00:33:30,500 –> 00:33:34,439 you can go if you promise not to preach. 683 00:33:35,660 –> 00:33:37,800 You know what Bunyan said? 684 00:33:37,800 –> 00:33:40,500 He looked straight at the judge and he said, 685 00:33:40,579 –> 00:33:44,160 sir, you and I are at a point. 686 00:33:44,160 –> 00:33:45,239 We’re at a point. 687 00:33:46,939 –> 00:33:51,640 Because if you release me today, I will preach tomorrow. 688 00:33:52,599 –> 00:33:54,060 Well, you know what happened? 689 00:33:55,099 –> 00:33:57,780 And he was a family man. 690 00:33:57,780 –> 00:33:58,880 So it’s good to remember that 691 00:33:58,880 –> 00:34:00,680 about great heroes from the past. 692 00:34:00,680 –> 00:34:04,699 He had a wife who he cherished and three children, 693 00:34:05,699 –> 00:34:09,060 two daughters and a son and one of the daughters 694 00:34:09,100 –> 00:34:11,520 who was closest to his heart was blind. 695 00:34:11,520 –> 00:34:14,699 He had a tenderness towards his blind daughter. 696 00:34:15,939 –> 00:34:16,979 And he’s taken to prison. 697 00:34:16,979 –> 00:34:18,300 Then he was released for a short time. 698 00:34:18,300 –> 00:34:20,459 Then he’s taken back because he won’t stop preaching. 699 00:34:20,459 –> 00:34:22,820 12 years of all out of the 60 years of his life, 700 00:34:22,820 –> 00:34:23,699 he’s in prison. 701 00:34:23,699 –> 00:34:28,419 He says in his biography, his own story, grace abounding. 702 00:34:28,419 –> 00:34:33,399 He says this, he says that saying goodbye to his family, 703 00:34:33,860 –> 00:34:38,260 he says, it was like pulling the flesh from my bones. 704 00:34:39,179 –> 00:34:43,120 When he’s released after 12 years, 705 00:34:44,080 –> 00:34:47,560 here’s a pastor who had all kinds of good things 706 00:34:47,560 –> 00:34:51,439 to say to his people about how to endure 707 00:34:51,439 –> 00:34:53,399 difficult circumstances. 708 00:34:53,399 –> 00:34:56,219 I’d like to listen to that pastor, wouldn’t you? 709 00:34:56,219 –> 00:34:57,959 I think he’d have something to say. 710 00:34:59,820 –> 00:35:02,260 Towards the end of his life, 711 00:35:02,260 –> 00:35:05,340 as he began to write down some of the lessons. 712 00:35:05,340 –> 00:35:07,060 He said this, and I discovered it 713 00:35:08,320 –> 00:35:13,000 in one of his lesser known writings this summer, 1685. 714 00:35:13,000 –> 00:35:13,840 He says, 715 00:35:16,080 –> 00:35:20,120 sometimes I look at myself and I say where am I now? 716 00:35:27,540 –> 00:35:30,000 And he says I give myself this answer. 717 00:35:30,000 –> 00:35:32,459 I say I’m in an evil world 718 00:35:32,459 –> 00:35:34,139 and I’m a long way from Heaven. 719 00:35:35,080 –> 00:35:37,939 Sometimes benighted, sometimes beguiled, 720 00:35:37,939 –> 00:35:40,219 sometimes fearing, sometimes hoping, 721 00:35:40,219 –> 00:35:43,439 sometimes breathing, sometimes dying, and the like. 722 00:35:44,820 –> 00:35:45,899 Then he continues, 723 00:35:45,899 –> 00:35:49,139 then I turn the tables, he says, 724 00:35:49,139 –> 00:35:52,719 and I say where shall I be soon? 725 00:35:54,340 –> 00:35:57,500 And when I can see where I will be soon 726 00:35:57,500 –> 00:36:00,300 after a few more times have passed over me 727 00:36:00,419 –> 00:36:04,739 and I can say to myself I see myself with Jesus, 728 00:36:04,739 –> 00:36:07,939 then he says this yields glory, 729 00:36:07,939 –> 00:36:10,899 even to my spirit now. 730 00:36:12,620 –> 00:36:16,820 Now, here’s Bunyan out of his heart-taking experience 731 00:36:16,820 –> 00:36:20,080 and he’s telling his people how do you endure 732 00:36:20,080 –> 00:36:22,919 the difficulties and the pressures of life in this world? 733 00:36:22,919 –> 00:36:24,219 How are you going to do it? 734 00:36:25,139 –> 00:36:27,040 And Bunyan says I just keep asking myself 735 00:36:27,040 –> 00:36:30,459 these two questions, where am I now, 736 00:36:32,300 –> 00:36:33,679 where will I be soon? 737 00:36:34,979 –> 00:36:37,800 Every time I ask myself where am I now, 738 00:36:37,800 –> 00:36:39,719 I’m reminded I’m in a booth, 739 00:36:41,060 –> 00:36:42,800 but soon I’ll be in a city, 740 00:36:44,120 –> 00:36:45,840 I live in this fallen world 741 00:36:45,840 –> 00:36:47,139 where people disappoint me 742 00:36:47,139 –> 00:36:49,459 and where so much is so wrong, 743 00:36:49,459 –> 00:36:51,020 but I will not be here forever, 744 00:36:51,020 –> 00:36:53,060 soon I will be with Jesus. 745 00:36:53,959 –> 00:36:57,699 And Bunyan says when my soul can grasp this, 746 00:36:59,399 –> 00:37:00,719 then I am strengthened, 747 00:37:00,719 –> 00:37:03,379 that is the point of the festival of booths, 748 00:37:05,040 –> 00:37:07,000 that I can grasp the difference 749 00:37:07,000 –> 00:37:09,379 between what I’m experiencing now 750 00:37:10,520 –> 00:37:13,260 is a pilgrim in this passing world 751 00:37:15,159 –> 00:37:19,919 and what lies ahead of me in the presence of Jesus. 752 00:37:20,760 –> 00:37:24,639 So the Feast of Tabernacles, the festival of booths 753 00:37:24,639 –> 00:37:28,439 reminds me that this world is not my home. 754 00:37:28,439 –> 00:37:31,080 It points to the second coming of Jesus 755 00:37:31,080 –> 00:37:32,439 and to the great inheritance 756 00:37:32,439 –> 00:37:33,800 that will be ours on that day 757 00:37:33,800 –> 00:37:36,479 when faith will be turned to sight, 758 00:37:36,479 –> 00:37:40,639 when this lowly body will be changed 759 00:37:40,639 –> 00:37:42,120 to be like his glorious body 760 00:37:42,120 –> 00:37:45,239 and we shall be forever with the Lord. 761 00:37:46,300 –> 00:37:47,959 In other words, it’s reminding us 762 00:37:47,959 –> 00:37:50,959 in the temporariness and the uncomfortable 763 00:37:50,959 –> 00:37:53,399 experience of life in this world 764 00:37:53,399 –> 00:37:55,580 that Christ will bring us home. 765 00:37:55,580 –> 00:37:57,879 And that is why Moses says beautifully 766 00:37:57,879 –> 00:38:00,080 in Deuteronomy 16 and verse 15, 767 00:38:00,080 –> 00:38:03,379 your joy will be complete. 768 00:38:04,840 –> 00:38:06,320 So folks, it’s done my soul good 769 00:38:06,320 –> 00:38:08,659 just to meditate on these three festivals 770 00:38:08,659 –> 00:38:10,860 and what they mean for us today. 771 00:38:11,919 –> 00:38:13,439 They point us to Jesus Christ 772 00:38:13,439 –> 00:38:14,959 and all that is ours in him, 773 00:38:14,959 –> 00:38:17,600 the Passover pointing us to the death of Christ, 774 00:38:17,600 –> 00:38:19,560 the Feast of Weeks, our firstfruits, 775 00:38:19,560 –> 00:38:22,100 to the resurrection and the gift of the Holy Spirit, 776 00:38:22,100 –> 00:38:24,719 the Feast of Booths, 777 00:38:24,719 –> 00:38:27,399 reminding us that we are pilgrims in this world 778 00:38:27,399 –> 00:38:29,820 and soon we are going home. 779 00:38:31,320 –> 00:38:33,639 There’s three things worth celebrating, right? 780 00:38:35,080 –> 00:38:37,120 Not just worth knowing 781 00:38:37,120 –> 00:38:39,020 because that can leave you uneffected, 782 00:38:40,179 –> 00:38:43,300 but worth celebrating because that will shape your life. 783 00:38:44,139 –> 00:38:48,520 Folks, I will never make it as a rapper 784 00:38:49,739 –> 00:38:52,320 and I don’t think most of you will either, 785 00:38:53,280 –> 00:38:54,739 but help me with this. 786 00:38:55,699 –> 00:38:58,659 I’ve reduced the message to just three lines 787 00:38:58,659 –> 00:39:00,860 and they’ve been pulsating in my mind 788 00:39:00,860 –> 00:39:03,020 for the last couple of days 789 00:39:03,020 –> 00:39:05,620 and I want them to pulsate in yours as well. 790 00:39:05,620 –> 00:39:10,300 Listen, Christ redeemed me, 791 00:39:11,159 –> 00:39:13,300 Christ is with me, Christ is with me, 792 00:39:13,300 –> 00:39:15,919 Christ will take me home, help me. 793 00:39:15,919 –> 00:39:19,159 Christ redeemed me, Christ is with me, 794 00:39:19,159 –> 00:39:21,120 Christ will take me home. 795 00:39:21,120 –> 00:39:23,979 Christ redeemed me, Christ is with me, 796 00:39:23,979 –> 00:39:25,580 Christ will take me home. 797 00:39:25,580 –> 00:39:28,479 Christ redeemed me, Christ is with me, 798 00:39:28,479 –> 00:39:30,840 Christ will take me home. 799 00:39:30,840 –> 00:39:32,280 That is worth an amen. 800 00:39:32,280 –> 00:39:36,000 That is worth celebrating, that is worth celebrating. 801 00:39:36,000 –> 00:39:38,840 Christ crucified, Christ risen, 802 00:39:38,840 –> 00:39:43,840 Christ coming again, that is worth celebrating. 803 00:39:44,699 –> 00:39:47,879 Father, teach us from your words 804 00:39:47,879 –> 00:39:52,879 to value what is of supreme importance in life. 805 00:39:53,620 –> 00:39:58,620 And not only to know it, but be shaped by it. 806 00:39:58,879 –> 00:40:01,040 For these things, we ask in the saviour’s name 807 00:40:01,040 –> 00:40:03,600 and everyone together said, amen.

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Colin Smith

Trustee / Founder and Teaching Pastor

Colin Smith is the Senior Pastor of The Orchard Evangelical Free Church in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. He has authored a number of books, including Heaven, How I Got Here and Heaven, So Near – So Far. Colin is the Founder and Teaching Pastor for Open the Bible. Follow him on X formerly Twitter.

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